Owners of the Tolmas tract, an incongruous patch of green space on heavily developed Veterans Memorial Boulevard in Metairie, must get Jefferson Parish government's approval if they want to build offices on the property, an appellate court has determined. The ruling strikes down assertions by Morning Park LLC, owners of the property east of Causeway Boulevard, that a 48-year-old court injunction favoring a previous owner overrules the parish's residential zoning of the land.

"This deals with people's homes and their lives, their daily lives," said Harold Singer, interim president of the association. "Who knows how this whole neighborhood could have been changed?"

The latest ruling was handed down Thursday by the 5th Louisiana Circuit Court of Appeal, on a 2010 lawsuit filed by Morning Park. The company sought to enforce a 1963 injunction favoring the property's former owner, developer Oscar Tolmas, who had built an office on the property before it was zoned residential in 1958. That injunction thwarted efforts by Jefferson Parish to prohibit Tolmas from placing shells on the tract to expand his parking lot into the parish's right-of-way.

A 5th Circuit panel comprised of judges Susan Chehardy of River Ridge, Jude Gravois of Vacherie and Marc Johnson of Kenner reversed Darensburg. "There is no mention of zoning in (Tolmas') original petition, nor of commercial versus residential use," according to the opinion, which Chehardy wrote. (Read the 5th Circuit's ruling.)

Morning Park bought the property in 2004, shortly after Tolmas' office was demolished. Four years later, the company applied for permits to build an office building and parking garage but cancelled its application after being told the tract was not zoned for commercial use.

Parish law allows non-conforming uses to remain on a property after it has been rezoned but states that the non-conforming use ends with the destruction of the building.

The 5th Circuit's opinion says that letting courts, rather than the parish, establish zoning on the property goes against precedent. "The authority to enact zoning regulations flows from the police power of the various governmental bodies; zoning is a legislative function," according to the opinion.

Nor did judges show much sympathy for Morning Park, which presumably didn't check zoning records but relied on the property's "commercial" designation on a plat map drawn up before the parish had a zoning ordinance.

"Zoning restrictions are public record, ... and a prospective purchaser of property can readily learn what zoning designation attaches to the property that the purchaser hopes to buy," according to the opinion.

Morning Park could still seek a rehearing before the full compliment of judges in the 5th Circuit or could appeal the case to the state Supreme Court. Lawyers for Morning Park could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

"I think it's a fair result, and they still have the opportunity to file for zoning changes," parish attorney Deborah Foshee said.

In that case, neighborhood residents are prepared to take their case to parish officials.

"We're all united in the neighborhood. We're going to see this thing through no matter what," Singer said.